US GRID CONNECT PV MARKET 2007: REPORT INTRODUCTION

Following the launch of the $3.3bn California Solar Initiative (CSI) program, approved during 2006, the growth prospects for the US Grid Connect market have increased dramatically over the last 12 months.

In 2006, 112 megawatts of solar photovoltaics were installed in the US Grid Connect market, up from 80 megawatts in 2005. Demand was led once again by California, which accounted for 63% of the national market. Notwithstanding funding program bottlenecks, New Jersey saw very strong growth in 2006, representing 17% of the national market.

The national market is analyzed by state, PV system size, application surface and market segment.

The five major market segments in the US are residential retrofit, residential new build, commercial, government and utility. The largest in 2006 was the commercial segment, which represented 33% of the total grid connect market. Over 110 large projects with customer names are identified in the report to help characterize each of the commercial, government and utility market segments.

Within the commercial segment, retail outlets led the market with 14.9 megawatts of projects. The largest application segment was commercial flat roofs, which accounted for 37.8 megawatts of the market. Meanwhile, strong demand from residential home owners, seeking to offset their conventional electricity usage, meant that this segment grew the fastest.

As first addressed in last year's report, Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) continued to be a catalyst for growth in the government, commercial and utility segments. With such interest in this topic, Solarbuzz dedicates a section within the 200 plus page report to profile individual PPA deals and their commercial terms.

A review of PV funding programs by state stimulating PV market development demonstrates that there are over 330 megawatts of projects nationally in development with identified program funding. In addition to funding programs, the report highlights the main changes and current status of tax credits, net metering and renewable portofolio standards.

The US Grid Connect 2007 report analyzes PV system installed prices, together with module factory gate prices and sales volumes for individual solar module models and inverter models.

There continues to be significant shifts in market shares of the solar module suppliers. Sharp Electronics retained its leadership position, while SunPower was the fastest growing module supplier. In respect of inverters, Xantrex Technology secured the largest share of the commercial and government segment, strengthening its position over its 2005 performance. In the residential segment, PV Powered manufactured inverters saw significant market share improvement.

Analysis of product flows through the downstream US chain reveals how the US market is currently structured and also the factors that will shape future development in that structure.

Solarbuzz utilizes three forecast scenarios, "Balanced Energy", "Green World" and "Production Led" for the US market over the 2007-2011 period. Analysis of 13 key state markets summarizes the drivers of their respective growth prospects and the factors affecting the range of market growth outcomes.

A review of the order books of the leading system integrators shows which companies will be the leaders over the next 24 months. The report also makes a projection of module manufacturer shares in the key California market.

The outline of the 200+ page US Grid Connect PV Market Report 2007 may be found at the link below.

Further details about: US Grid Connect PV Market Report 2007